


Challenge

by burbs, Townycod13



Series: Retry [1]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Frontier
Genre: Gen, M/M, Prequel, eventual takuichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2017-12-10 03:15:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/781136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burbs/pseuds/burbs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Townycod13/pseuds/Townycod13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Takuya it had been a fairly normal day, to be entirely honest he's having difficulties trying to figure out how it went wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Challenge**

_Chapter 1_

Given the circumstances it should be entirely understandable how it all resulted the way it did. It shouldn’t have surprised any how much pain it caused, it shouldn’t have even caused a single moment taken aback.

It was predictable.

The most predictable things are sometimes the most painful.

* * *

“I’m Kimura Kouichi, it’s nice to meet you.”

Takuya froze a moment, trying to figure out why the face in front of him was so incredibly familiar before shrugging it off and holding out his hand to shake Kouichi’s.

“Kanbara Takuya, same.” Takuya gave him a careless grin.

Kouichi smiled hesitantly in response, shaking Takuya’s hand and excusing himself to finish unpacking.

The Kimura’s just moved next door and Takuya already had a fairly good feeling for the matter. There wasn’t really anything he could think of that wasn’t fun about the idea of new neighbors, specifically one his own age.

It was definitely gonna bug him that he couldn’t place where he recognized Kouichi from though, it left a sort of tossing feeling in his stomach to not know.

There was a moment, just as Takuya shook his hand, that Takuya had a dreadful feeling of déjà vu that left him uneasy as well but he was pointedly ignoring that in favor of pondering over where he might have spotted the other boy before.

Summer vacation was ending in a few days and Takuya had yet to do much more than hang out with his brother and play videogames, to be honest he found it kinda of pathetic that he seemed to have no life outside of his brother currently but his closest friend was on vacation with his family and Takuya didn’t really care to go and investigate the wonders of summer vacation alone.

He still couldn’t help but find it sad that he was starting high school with virtually nothing exciting happening. Takuya was the sort that enjoyed an adventure, he was athletic and fairly intelligent, there was really rarely a task that truly challenged him and when something did he enjoyed conquering the challenges with his headstrong powers alone.

With a shrug towards what ever is left of his pathetic excuse for a social life Takuya made his way back inside. Maybe Shinya would want to play that new fighting game again; Takuya could use an ego boost after the chills he got earlier.

It took a significant amount of self control, but he didn’t glance at the house next door again before heading inside.

“Takuya? Is that you?"

He bit back a groan, he was hoping to make it past the kitchen without getting strong-armed into helping out with dinner, “Yeah?”

“Could you help me a minute? I need someone to cut the onions.”

Of course it’d be onions.

“Don’t groan and help me out, you’re too old to be acting like a child.” It was one of the biggest mysteries of his life how his mother always managed to have a ‘no-nonsense’ tone while still sounding endearing.

It was a bit embarrassing so he just slumped his way into the kitchen, retrieved a kitchen knife from the drawer closest to the sink and proceeded to stare down his new enemy.

We meet again onion. You may have bested me once, but now, now…

It wasn’t very long at all before his eyes started stinging.

His mother hummed softly from the other side of the kitchen, “If you’d cut them how I ask you to, you wouldn’t be suffering.”

He pouted, he’d never understand how she made it work, she’d make several quick cuts and it would be over barely before it started with no tears. He wasn’t in the least bit jealous… just… miffed.

He could hear her chuckling at his pain too, the cruelty he endured.

It all brought a sigh to his lips, he wanted this to be more dramatic than it was. He wanted to onion to be some evil cruelty to overcome, to have some quest to complete, some journey he must conquer.

He _wanted_ this to be more than the sweet kitchen scene it was.

His mother shot him a slightly worried look, “So you met the new neighbors?”

Takuya shrugged, “Just the son. He seems nice enough, a bit reserved though.” The onion wasn’t cutting the way he wanted it to at all, he was most of the way done and it was an uneven massacre of onion.

Why was it always onions?

“That so? I met him earlier today too, along with his mother. They seem really sweet, I invited her over for tea tomorrow.”

Takuya nodded absentmindedly, paying no mind to the fact that it was unlikely his mother could see the action. She practically had eyes in the back of her head anyway.

There was a rustle outside and he jumped to attention, cutting his finger and staring out a window into the bushes that yielded no evidence of any foul play.

“How’d you manage that? Goodness, get it washed and bandaged, quickly!”

Takuya nodded numbly, still wanting to stare out the empty window.

It gave him the creeps.

Everything gave him the creeps today.

It was like he was missing something big and had no way of figuring out what he was missing.

It was like he was helpless.

Safe to say, he hated the feeling.

\--

_“I challenge you.”_

\--

The evening air was chilly and not altogether unpleasant but Takuya’s sure that it was part of the reason he jerked awake. He couldn’t for the life of him remember whatever he’d been dreaming about so he assumed it was probably also an aspect.

His window was open and he honestly had little recollection of leaving it open but it didn’t surprise him. It wasn’t too late, not too early, and all he wanted to do was get out of his room.

It might have had to do with the way his heart was still pounding after waking up so suddenly, but he felt the need to get out. Get out and run.

With an only slightly calming breath, he decided it might do him some good to take a walk. Maybe he’d go to the nearest Family Mart and pick up some snacks.

He could hear his parents still awake watching TV in the living room and he was pretty sure that Shinya was finishing his summer homework in his room, so Takuya sent his parents a half-hearted good-bye and headed out the front door.

The immediate chill that stuck him as he walked outside startled him. It scared him a bit too, but he wasn’t often someone that succumbed to fear of any kind so he disregarded it with the same shrug he did for most unexplainable things.

He still couldn’t help but feel this was all too familiar.

The convenience store is close and a route he’s used countless times, it took only a few steps before he calmed a bit. It was the weather getting to him; it shouldn’t be this cold in summer, even towards the end.

That was all that bothered him.

It wasn’t until he was roughly halfway to his destination that anything else occurred to him, it was strange how sudden and shocking it was but he knew where he’d seen Kimura-kun.

It was all because there was a fruit fallen from a tree and he really couldn’t say why that gave him the answer to the question he hadn’t even known he’d been pondering, but he recalled that there was a boy that looked nearly identical to Kouichi in his Middle School, he’d never talked to the guy (seemed to uptight for Takuya) but he was two classes down if Takuya recalled and Takuya would see him around here and there.

It was a sudden, vivid memory of something mundane and meaningless.

It shocked Takuya somehow.

There was a fruit rotting and broken on the ground and there was a boy that may or may not have resembled his new neighbor at his old school and the air was chilly.

And it wasn’t strange. It _shouldn’t_ be strange. He was probably remembering most of this wrong in the first place; at most Kouichi probably had familial resemblance to the guy.

And why was he so sure that Kouichi wasn’t the guy? It wouldn’t be _too_ strange, Takuya didn’t know anything about their situation or where they’d moved from.

It wasn’t a big deal.

And yet, every shred of Takuya wanted to run and hide from these simple, _stupid_ things that meant nothing and had absolutely no relation to one another.

It was like he could feel something bad was going to happen.

It’s just the weather. It’s just the fruit. It’s just the neighbors…

And there had been some _thing_ outside that window.

The shadows shifted and Takuya broke into a run. If asked he couldn’t have told you why he ran but he ran as fast as his feet could humanly carry him the rest of the way to the stupid convenience store.

 

There was nothing to be scared of and Takuya did _not_ get scared.

Reaching the Family Mart was oddly one of the most relieving things that had happened to Takuya in longer than he could really rightly recall but he attempted to brush it off. He knew he was just being ridiculous. He knew that there wasn’t anything really wrong.

It was with some distress he realized he’d left his cell at home.

Taking a mildly shaky breath he entered the store and started browsing the isles for the snack of his choice, preferably something with chocolate. He was man enough to admit he could really use the stuff in his condition.

He might be being absolutely nuts but that didn’t change that he felt shaken.

As if to resent the too cold for summer air outside, he also made his way to the popsicles. Nothing could deter him from their tasty chill goodness, not even his mortal enemy the onion.

Well maybe the onion, but that was another story for another day.

Significantly calmed, Takuya made his way to the register without a slump to his step and even a bit of enthusiasm.

The cashier, also known as Kimura Kouchi, his brand new neighbor, greeted him with a that same hesitant smile from earlier that day.

And that would be the rough estimate by Takuya’s account as to when all hell broke loose and the clues started to make, if possible, less sense.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Challenge**

_Chapter 2_

“What is that?!”

 

“I-I don’t know…”

 

If Takuya had just a bit less self-preservation burned into his soul he would have stopped running with the part-timer right then and there and called bullshit.

 

As it is, he was a _lot_ more freaked out by the strange creature that had ransacked the Family Mart and was now _chasing them_ than he was with Kouichi’s fib.

 

Even if that fib could probably have been helpful if it _hadn’t_ happened. Kouichi hadn’t been nearly as surprised as Takuya at the presence of the—the…

 

“ _What is that?!_ ” Takuya wasn’t really expecting an answer and Kouichi seemed well enough aware of this and just kept running.

 

In any case, it had been Kouichi’s conveniently fast reflexes that had saved Takuya from being impaled by glass shards and, ya know, the beast-thing-monster.

 

It was all Takuya needed to get over his shock and get the both of them out of there, he was really lucky more than anything that there was an exit through the back room, otherwise they would have just been trapped.

 

Takuya tries very hard _not_ to think about how he had known it was there as if he’d been there before. Been there before and done this song and dance before and—

 

He didn’t think before taking a turn into the park, it seemed like the place to go, it seemed like the _right_ place to go in spite of how little cover it offered them against the creepy monster thing.

 

If Takuya didn’t know better he’d say it resembled a bunny in some messed up way. Mutated and then mutated again.

 

It was like the twisted rotting remnants of a nightmare.

 

Takuya shuddered at the thought and pulled Kouichi behind a slide with him.

 

The lumbering, creeping, sliming, grinning—always grinning, it was grinning and it’s smile was somehow _rotted_ —creature wasn’t far behind them, Takuya was actually surprised that they made it this far into the park without it catching up to them immediately.

 

It was like it was a trap.

 

A terrible, terrible trap.

 

Kouichi made a shushing motion next to him and Takuya realized how badly he’d been shaking. That was the other thing, Kouichi seemed disturbed and unhappy with the situation, but he didn’t seem _scared_. Not the way anyone should be given the circumstance.

 

It was brief and small but Takuya wished he was a child again, a child that feared nothing, that didn’t realize there could be anything bigger or badder.

 

In that way children are invincible.

 

“ _You should come out. You should come out and play, children should play, why aren’t you playing with me?_ ”

 

The voice caused Takuya’s stomach to drop like lead, it was singing, it was purring, and it was _screaming_ , like no torment was as great as—as… Takuya couldn’t say.

 

Takuya couldn’t say a lot of things.

 

“ _Play and you’ll get rewarded, it will be fine, it will be great. Don’t you want to play with me? Don’t you? Don’t you?_ ”

 

Kouichi’s body was tensing further with each word and Takuya couldn’t blame him, he could barely breathe from the horror. The voice was calm and sweet but somehow…

 

It was hysterical. It was like someone was screeching agony straight into his mind.

 

Takuya could barely handle it.

 

“ _Oh, I see._ ”

 

Kouichi’s entire body froze and Takuya felt like his blood was pumping _ice_.

 

Why was it so chilly?

 

“ _We’re already playing._ ”

 

Takuya hated the song to his voice more than he hated _anything_.

 

“ _Hide and seek, is it?_ ”

 

In another moment, just a moment, Takuya knew he’d hear the most horrific words of his life. In a moment, he’d hear exactly what this _monsters_ game was leading to, those two words any child might say if they found someone in hide and seek.

 

That cute little phrase that would destroy him.

 

It was amazing how invincible children were to this.

 

In a moment, in a second, in a—

 

Kouichi was gripping his arm and glaring at him, he mouthed three words and Takuya knew what he was going to do.

 

What Kouichi was asking him not to do.

 

Takuya will never, in all his days, know where he got the courage but in a moment he’d shaken off Kouichi’s grip, had a branch in hand (from where he couldn’t say) and was staring down the scariest thing in his life with the same blind invincibility that was sure to get him killed.

 

Because Kouichi had said ‘don’t do it’ and there was a rotted fruit and it was too familiar.

 

Honestly it was as if he’d died a million times and couldn’t recall.

 

The creature was surprised and then gleeful and it was only a moment before he was descending upon Takuya with such hatred, such unbelievable hatred.

 

It could consume him. It was like Takuya had done the one thing that he despised most.

 

He was slammed to the ground a moment later with Kouichi yelling something at him and pulling him to his feet having narrowly avoided dying again.

 

…again…

 

Takuya couldn’t even begin to pursue the thought.

 

His measly branch was gone and they were running behind some swings that were shortly batted out of the ground as if they were made of paper mache.

 

If Kouichi hadn’t tackled him Takuya would be dead. The thought drained the blood out of his face but he knew somehow that he was right, it was dumb, it was ridiculous, but he had been right.

 

Children were invincible and he was not a child.

 

And that was exactly why he was going to die.

 

“You are not going to die!”

 

There was something tight in Kouichi’s voice and a confidence that he shouldn’t possess considering the creature was just crawling and dancing and twirling its way towards them.

 

It was like it was several existences at once and they were all in pain.

 

And they were all burning with the need to kill.

 

Kouichi snapped his attention away again, strangely not taking them to run again, “Don’t look at it.”

 

“That’s a good idea _how_?!”

 

Kouichi smirked and there was something to it, to the way it was easy on his face and there was confidence and something…

 

…something almost invincible.

 

Takuya shut his eyes.

 

It was a moment before he felt the pain but in that moment he knew that he’d seen a boy that looked almost identical to Kouichi but he’d also seen Kouichi.

 

Not really, not in reality, not in dreams, not anywhere. But endlessly and repeatedly.

 

The pain wasn’t what he expected though.

 

He opened his eyes.

 

Moments away, seconds away, an impossible short moment away from death; the creatures claws just barely tainting his skin, ready to plunge into his ribcage and… it was frozen.

 

The creature was frozen and staring elsewhere, as if Takuya, even inches away, was no longer of any interest.

 

Takuya heard a low growl next to him and he feared for a moment that something _else_ was going to kill him now, he almost couldn’t even look.

 

Kouichi was there but he looked focused and strained and there was… a shadow next him, Takuya couldn’t see it quite, and really couldn’t say what it was or if there was really anything there.

 

It was as if it didn’t exist in this reality.

 

The shadow growled again low and deep and the creature still _barely_ not tearing through his body _laughed_ and giggled and screamed.

 

“ _You know that can’t do anything here._ ”

 

The voice sounded more sane than before, less manic and almost mature.

 

Kouichi cracked a half grin, “You won’t be killing him again.”

 

“ _Is that a challenge?_ ”

 

And oddly, that was all Takuya really needed to recall weeks. Weeks.

 

He usually didn’t even make it past this night. Sometimes not past the Family Mart. Once not even to the Family Mart.

 

Because he’d been challenged. And he accepted, like an idiot, and Kouichi always seemed to know a bit more about the situation than he did but still seemed rather confused.

 

And sometimes they hung out during Takuya’s final afternoon and sometimes they didn’t and other times Kouichi didn’t even bother introducing himself.

 

And he’d never remembered before now, he remembered that much. But he knew what was going to happen before he died because it didn’t matter the scenario, Kouichi would rather die than let Takuya.

 

And he does.

 

Again.

 

And again.

 

And Takuya could puke; in fact he probably would under any other circumstance.

 

And then it was vague, like a dream escaping, a moment of clarity followed by more confusion. He couldn’t say if the memories were real or what had happened within them or what anything was.

 

But Takuya knows that tonight is their last chance. The challenge, whatever it had entailed, had been for twenty-seven days.

 

If he couldn’t survive tonight…

 

Worst of all, if Kouichi didn’t…

 

…but…

 

Kouichi opened his mouth and Takuya moved before he could think.

 

He kicked the claws away from him, grabbed Kouichi’s arm, and pulled the both of them away from the moment the claws would return.

 

“What are you…?”

 

Takuya gave Kouichi an invincible smile of his own, “Don’t know what’s going on my ass.”

 

The creature shrieked, “ _Why do you keep running?!_ ”

 

Takuya bit his bottom lip; he had an idea but…

 

Well, he’s had worse ideas.


	3. Chapter 3

**Challenge**

_Chapter 3_

The first thing that Takuya was able to register was his window was open and the birds were chirping and he knew he’d had a _really_ weird dream but couldn’t for the life of him remember of what.

Yesterday was all a bit of a blur to be entirely honest.

There were maybe one or two key events that stuck out but really he only remembered clearly that his new neighbor had a part time job or several, it was a little vague. He felt like maybe he’d talked to the guy about it once but couldn’t quite place it.

He couldn’t really place any of yesterday so he supposed that was only fair though.

He had the creepiest feeling of déjà vu about the window being open but he was getting pretty good at shrugging this stuff off.

…whatever stuff he was getting good at shrugging off…

“Wake up, Takuya-nii! Mom says you’re going to never wake up again if you keep sleeping in like this!”

The knocking on his door was almost welcome in a strange way, once more, Takuya could not tell you why. It was so helplessly normal.

What was the name of the neighbor again?

Shrugging he shoved a t-shirt and some khaki’s on and made his way downstairs, his mom only made sentences like that when she was losing her patience.

And you really didn’t want to be on receiving end of her when you messed up. Takuya would know, he was the trouble-maker that had always managed to track mud through essentially everywhere.

Why couldn’t he think of it? He’d been introduced to the guy yesterday, he should remember his name…

Of topic, why was he even thinking about that?

Regardless Takuya took one look at the boring scene downstairs of his mother washing the last of the breakfast dishes, he must of slept in, and his brother playing videogames and he knew he had to take a walk. He’d just die of boredom waiting around here.

“I’m gonna buy some snacks, I’ll be back.”

His mother sent him a slight look, “Did you go to buy snacks last night?”

Takuya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “Maybe?”

He honestly couldn’t recall.

His mother had the sort of long-suffering tolerant look she had when she secretly thought his antics were endearing so he took that as a go, and headed out.

He couldn’t really help that he stared at the neighbors’ house after exiting his own, the neighbors name was really bothering him—…

There was a dark haired boy exited with a dog, presumably about it walk him and it was wrong.

Everything about the scene was wrong.

He was identical to the boy Takuya had met yesterday, Takuya was sure of it though, they were different people.

They were completely different people.

Yesterday Takuya knows he met a different boy and that the switch was strange.

Because the boy he’s looking at is Minomouto Kouji from class 2-B. Takuya knows because he’s seen the guy around school and he was sort of popular with the girls so he ended up hearing the name a lot.

He knows this is true.

And he should come up with a rational explanation, there are plenty of rational explanations for this, they could be brothers, it would explain the resemblance and…

Takuya couldn’t really bring himself to move, he knew he was being irrational but he knew it was true. He couldn’t for the life of him say how, he couldn’t even tell you the other boys name.

Luckily, Takuya supposes, Minomouto doesn’t notice him in the least, much to busy with the surprisingly large dog and it’s all wrong.

Takuya slumps and slides into a sitting position, legs somehow unstable with everything strange that’s _not_ happened.

He tries hard to recall anything at all, anything that could lead him to the truth and he thinks of nothing but a useless fallen rotten fruit and a cold night, something or another about onions.

…how he hates onions… he would bet anything this was all the onions ploy to drive him insane, it would be just like them to, with their pain inducing fumes and whatnot.

He takes a deep breath and pretends that centers himself, he left to go to the corner store and buy snacks and…

The boy had a part time job there! Maybe, maybe…!

He’s up and running before he can really make any sense of the idea, down the familiar path and once more feeling a strange sense of déjà vu for running to the store.

If he’s right…

He doesn’t feel relieved when he reaches the store and he wonders why he expected to feel relieved. There’s some workers there replacing the glass window but other than that nothing is out of order and despite his surprisingly large hopes, there’s a stranger at the register.

It’s not chilly out but Takuya still buys a popsicle to spite the weather. He doesn’t even care to fathom why.

The walk back to his house is uneventful and he hates how he thinks it’s strange that it would be.

When he enters he finds an unfamiliar woman having tea with his mother and he remembers that this woman shouldn’t be named Minomouto. That she should have longer hair pulled into a low ponytail and look just so slightly overworked.

This woman is relaxed, if not a bit stiff in other ways, she has glasses and shorter hair and it’s inaccurate.

He is able to resist commenting and greets her politely. It had to do with growing up, he’s sure if he were a child he would have pointed everything that is wrong out, even if it caused a scene.

Being a child can be somewhat troublesome.

He can’t really bring himself to play nice for long though, it’s too wrong and too inaccurate and he retreats to his room.

Perhaps he’s more childish than he thought he was.

Plopping down on his bed he tried desperately to come up with an explanation, _any_ explanation other than his own insanity.

The window is still open and it blows warm air into the room and it all just gives him goosebumps.

For a moment he thinks this is stupid.

For a moment, he quits and angrily kicks his unmade covers off the bad.

For just this one simple moment he chooses not to care that the wrong person lives next door.

It’s only a moment later that he refuses.

There are a few things that Takuya is genuinely bad at and one of the biggest things that he has been proven time and time again to fail has been the art of giving up a useless endeavor.

His phone vibrates on his bedside table and he ignores it for just a moment as he sits up and glares at the open window.

He’s sure the stupid window would just love for him to quit. The onions too. If he quits than it was all for nothing…

More importantly he’ll find the boy. He’ll find the boy if it’s the last damn thing he ever does.

The phone vibrates again and he grabs it in the same motion he uses to get to his feet and start rummaging through his room for the correct equipment for an adventure.

He’s sure he’d choose differently if he were still a child, he’s sure a lot of things would be different if he were only still a child.

But just because he’s no longer a child doesn’t mean he can’t be invincible and whatever cosmic joke was being played on him he wasn’t having _any_ of it.

Because there’s just too many strange things that happened and didn’t happen and whether he’s right or wrong he has to find that person. If he doesn’t than there’s nothing that can be done.

He had never in his entire life been the sort of person that walked away from danger because it was scary. _Especially_ when someone could be in danger.

It clicked there, whoever he was, whatever his name was; the boy from yesterday was _in danger_. And Takuya was the only person who knew.

One more vibrate and he finally paid mind to his persistent phone.

_[Do you want to find him?]_

Takuya stared at the text with wide eyes, the reality that he wasn’t actually crazy and there was probably _real_ danger coming down on him, something about the glass being replaced at the Family Mart driving the point home in his mind.

A new message arrived.

_[I can help you but at a cost.]_

He couldn’t imagine what cost was scarier than the dread building in him freezing his movements.

_[Will you proceed?_

_Yes/No?]_

Takuya already knew his answer.

And that’s probably the most predictable thing of all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about not updating sooner >x


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